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Lot 235*
A very rare aventurine glass carving of Zhang Qian on a raft 18th/19th century
Amended
16 May 2019, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £10,062.50 inc. premium
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A very rare aventurine glass carving of Zhang Qian on a raft
18th/19th century
Well carved as a raft hollowed from a gnarled tree trunk, ferrying a seated figure at the centre holding a book in one hand, leaning against three piles of books wrapped in cloth, the glass of brilliant sparkling brown tone, wood stand. 22.6cm (9in) long (2).
Well carved as a raft hollowed from a gnarled tree trunk, ferrying a seated figure at the centre holding a book in one hand, leaning against three piles of books wrapped in cloth, the glass of brilliant sparkling brown tone, wood stand. 22.6cm (9in) long (2).
Footnotes
十八/十九世紀 金星玻璃雕仙人乘槎擺件
Provenance: a distinguished European private collection, acquired by the grandparents of the present owner, and thence by descent
來源：顯赫歐洲私人收藏，由現藏家祖父母獲得，並由其家族繼承
Aventurine glass was mainly carved as scholarly objects in the Qing Court during the Qianlong reign. This can be seen in a number of extant examples in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Classics of the Forbidden City: Scholar's Paraphernalia, Beijing, 2009, nos.104-105, 196, and 238; and by E.S.Rawski and J.Rawson, eds., China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795, London, 2005, no.299.
The present lot is exceptionally rare and no other similar example would appear to have been published. It displays the playfulness of Qing dynasty Imperial craftsmanship, of imitating one material using another. In the present lot this is remarkably done twice, firstly the aventurine glass imitates quartz, and secondly in its brown tone, the material imitates rhinoceros horn. This was done with characteristic Qing opulence, adding a sparkle to the material.
The allusion to rhinoceros horn draws its inspiration from rhinoceros horn pouring vessels of the 17th and 18th century, carved with the figure of the Han dynasty Imperial envoy and official, Zhang Qian. For rhinoceros horn examples in the Imperial collections, see one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the exhibition Jiangxin yu xiangong. Ming Qing diaoke zhan (Uncanny Ingenuity and Celestial Feats: The Carvings of Ming and Qing Dynasties), Taipei, 2011, no.30; and three further rhinoceros horn examples, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Hong Kong, 2002, nos.118-120. These in turn, may have been inspired by the well-known silver example, formerly in the collection of Lady David, inscribed with a poem and artist's seal Bishan denoting Zhu Bishan, a silversmith active during the 14th century, illustrated in Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), Cleveland, 1968, no.37.
Saleroom notices
Please note that Import Duty Low Rate and thus subject to an additional 5% charge.